Pregnancy rates to timed artificial insemination in dairy cows treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone or porcine luteinizing hormone

Abstract

We compared the effects of porcine luteinizing hormone (pLH) versus gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) on ovulatory response and pregnancy rate after timed artificial insemination (TAI) in 605 lactating dairy cows. Cows (mean ± SEM: 2.4 ± 0.08 lactations, 109.0 ± 2.5 d in milk, and 2.8 ± 0.02 body condition score) at three locations were assigned to receive, in a 2 × 2 factorial design, either 100 μg GnRH or 25 mg pLH im on Day 0, 500 μg cloprostenol (PGF) on Day 7, and GnRH or pLH on Day 9, with TAI 14 to 18 h later. Ultrasonographic examinations were performed in a subset of cows on Days 0, 7, 10, and 11 to determine ovulations, presence of corpus luteum, and follicle diameter and in all cows 32 d after TAI for pregnancy determination. In 35 cows, plasma progesterone concentrations were determined 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 12 d after ovulation. The proportion of noncyclic cows and cows with ovarian cysts on Day 0 were 12% and 6%, respectively. Ovulatory response to first treatment was 62% versus 44% for pLH and GnRH and 78% versus 50% for noncyclic and cyclic cows ( P < 0.01). Location, ovulatory response to first pLH or GnRH, cyclic status, presence of an ovarian cyst, and preovulatory follicle size did not affect pregnancy rate. Plasma progesterone concentrations after TAI did not differ among treatments. Pregnancy rate to TAI was greater ( P < 0.01) in the GnRH/PGF/pLH group (42%) than in the other three groups (28%, 30%, and 26% for GnRH/PGF/GnRH, pLH/PGF/GnRH, and pLH/PGF/pLH, respectively). Although only 3% of cows given pLH in lieu of GnRH on Day 9 lost their embryo versus 7% in those subjected to a conventional TAI using two GnRH treatments, the difference was not statistically significant. In summary, pLH treatment on Day 0 increased ovulatory response but not pregnancy rate. Cows treated with GnRH/PGF/pLH had the highest pregnancy rate to TAI, but progesterone concentrations after TAI were not increased. In addition, preovulatory follicle diameter did not affect pregnancy rate.